The invention relates to the technical class of towelling paper dispensers for hand towels, toilet, absorbent and similar paper or soft tissue-based products.
The invention relates to the same class when the dispenser is automatic or semi-automatic and uses pull-out flat, unfolded or folded paper band.
This type of equipment and dispensing apparatus is known to possess a spare roll that is installed in the dispenser before the service roll is depleted. Such spare rolls consist of paper wound onto a cardboard or other core and are horizontally installed in the dispenser.
Without engaging into a detailed description of possible dispenser component shapes, suffice it to say that this type of apparatus usually takes the shape of a U-shaped casing with a hinged, frontal lid that may be temporarily locked using a key, a latch or some similar device.
The lower part of the casing is arranged to be fitted crosswise with a drum that is equipped with a cutting device of suitable form that, when actuated, will penetrate into and cut the bands of material into the lengths desired.
A first roll, commonly called the service roll, is placed over the drum between support flanges that may or may not be articulated but are sufficiently flexible to receive and retain the roll.
A hold-down element fitted over the drum in the same axis between the sidewalls is pressed onto the drum. The paper band from the service roll is passed between the hold-down element and the drum in order to be guided by it, leaving the dispenser by its bottom part through a slit, at which point it may be seized by the user and pulled out.
It is easy to see that the diameter of the service paper roll in this type of dispenser is to be inspected regularly to see whether it is time to install the reserve roll.
Applicant has designed rod-operated transfer mechanisms for moving the spare roll from its position over the service roll into the dispensing position, replacing the latter when depleted. Such mechanisms, though reliable, remain complex and costly to manufacture.
According to the prior art, there is also the possibility of using counter-rotating pinion pairs to place the spare roll into operation. Such mechanisms are likewise costly and not practical to install.
The object of the invention is to design and make a simple system that would be cheap to manufacture and would make loading spare rolls easy.
A further object of the invention is to offer a solution that could be used with automatic and semi-automatic dispensers of folded and non-folded paper.
These and other objects will become apparent from the following description.
According to a first aspect of the invention, the towelling paper dispenser for hand towels, toilet, absorbent and similar paper, whether automatic or semi-automatic and using pull-out, unfolded or folded paper band comprising a casing with a hinged, frontal cover, said casing having two support flanges perpendicular to the casing backwall, with a drum and an integral cutting device installed crosswise in the bottom part of the casing between said flanges, said drum being rotated by paper traction and a separate hold-down element fitted over the drum being held in place between the flanges of the casing, the lower part of which is slotted for the paper to pass and the paper roll being held in place between the formed upper flanges and a receptacle being provided in the bottom rear of the dispenser, is remarkable in that it comprises a loading system designed to test for depletion of the first or service roll in the receptacle so as to switch to a so-called "reserve" or spare roll located between the flanges, and in that the loading system comprises a primary device mounted inside the cover in a position substantially facing the paper band as it passes and is run onto the drum to cut it as well as a secondary and complementary device mounted to the dispenser casing, said secondary device being cocked by the closing of the cover so as to test for the depletion of the first roll, in which case it causes the primary device on the cover to feed the band of paper from the so-called "reserve" roll onto the drum.
According to another aspect, the nearly depleted service roll in the receptacle being in the dispensing position with the paper band placed on the drum and ready to be cut, it can be seen that the band is stretched and constitutes a guard area adjacent to a profiled plate placed crosswise behind the drum, said guard band under certain conditions being in a position to cooperate with the secondary device of the loading system.
These aspects and others will become apparent from the following description.